A Matter of Life and Death – November 9, 2021

[Jesus said] “Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
John 5:25

A Matter of Life and Death

This is a strange Bible verse. Jesus said that the dead would hear his voice, but how could the dead hear? And how could the dead come to life from hearing? Was Jesus telling a joke?

No, Jesus was dead serious. He even said, “Very truly I tell you.” He was telling the truth. Jesus wanted to be heard by the dead. He still does because listening to Jesus is a matter of life and death.

To understand Jesus’ Words, you need to understand what the Bible teaches about death. According to the Bible, there are three kinds of death: spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death. Jesus was talking about spiritual death.

By nature, every human being enters this world alive physically but dead spiritually. You were, by nature, dead in sin. You were born a physically living, breathing baby. But spiritually, you were a corpse that had no faith in God.

Fixing this condition is not just a matter of making better choices or trying harder. A corpse cannot make a choice or do anything to improve itself.

A corpse must be raised to life by a power outside of itself. This is what the words of Jesus are able to do. His words are able to create faith in his listeners. This is what Jesus meant when he said that the dead would hear the voice of the Son of God and live.

How important it is, then, for us to hear Jesus’ words! They are powerful enough to give spiritual and eternal life. Thank you, Jesus, for your powerful voice!

Prayer:
Son of God, give me life through your Word. Amen.